There is something unsettling about the way we think about punishment. This week, as Four Corners revealed shocking conditions and treatment of juvenilles at the Don Dale detention centre in the Northern Territory, the first response was reflective horror.
Then, today, we began to see the arguments that really, this treatment was for the children’s own good.
Writing for News Corp, former governor of Grafton Gaol John Heffernan called the response to the revelations an “overreaction”.
He argued the restraint chair that has appalled the nation was an “approved” way of giving a “time out”.
“I’m sorry, but through my experienced eyes I see a juvenile offender, who has obviously been acting out, being provided time out, restrained in an approved chair, with an approved “spit hood” covering his head,” he said.
Sorry Mr Heffernan, torture is not just tooth extraction, nail pulling and the rack. It’s not just hanging people upside down, or scalding them with boiling water. It’s not just syringes full of truth serum administered by accented goon squads in films.
Watch a clip from the Four Corners episode. Post continues after video.
Children are never supposed to be kept in isolation. It’s also not recommended for adults.
Involuntary sensory deprivation is considered a form of torture, and that spit hood certainly fits that bill.
These items might be approved, but it doesn’t make them OK.
When someone is convicted of a crime, no matter what that crime is, they enter a system that is designed to punish them, yes, but also to protect our society and rehabilitate them.
The goal of incarceration must be twofold. It must be punitive and rehabilitative, because most prisoners are eventually released. In Australia, all juvenile offenders certainly are.
Would we rather send them into the world damaged, violent and institutionalised or with a shot at a different life? A life that doesn’t involve a cycle of imprisonment and release.
Of course it is important that the staff that work in these facilities feel safe while doing their jobs, but I cannot see how treating children as monsters will improve their safety or foster respect for them among their charges.
If we erase a person’s humanity, what do we expect?
Heffernan is right when he says the public expects government to be tough on crime, and view that through a prism of deprivation and long, tough sentences.
The international evidence though does not back up that harshness gets results.
Just look at the United States justice system. They have some of the most punitive sentencing laws in the world. The incarceration rates are ridiculously high (particularly among black men) and repeat offending is an ongoing problem. So is overcrowding in prisons, a heavy-handed use of solitary confinement as punishment and a real emphasis on the punitive side of incarceration. Rehabilitation is almost an afterthought. Over 75 per cent of inmates re-offend in the first five years after their release.
But in Norway, just 20 per cent of prisoners re-offend. The incarceration rates are also very low. Norway’s emphasis is on normalcy on the inside, on what is called “restorative” justice.
The systems are worlds apart. And so are the outcomes.
What was going on at Don Dale might have involved approved equipment and techniques. But the backlash shows Australians are not convinced this is the path we want to take.
Strapping a child to a chair and putting a bag over their head is not a "time out".
It's reducing them to something less than human. When we do that, we tell them its OK to behave in a way that matches that expectation.
Raising our own minimum standards of decency and respect is the only way to do better, and the only way to demand that others do better.
So yes, we need a royal commission, because this isn't just about one incident, one iconic nation-capturing image. It's about the fundamentals of our society.
What kind of a country do we want to be?
Top Comments
Why is no-one asking where these kids' families were in this equation? Why were the kids neglected so badly that they ended up on ice-fuelled rampages through the streets? You really need to put yourselves in the shoes of the police here. That spitting hood was to prevent Hep C being transmitted to a policeman via spittle in the eye. Rather than casting blame at the "end result" phase, Indigenous communities need to be asking why they are creating conditions so dysfunctional that kids don't go home and run wild. I have some sympathy for the institution and its vain attempts to control these kids - with no support from parents or, it turns out, peak Indigenous bodies. .
Juvenile justice is not about punitive actions, that is why we don't name juveniles in order for them to be rehabilitated and move on with a productive life. No matter how they spin it, you cannot do these things. It is torture. The mask is designed to create tightened levels of fear and anxiety, to disorientate, force the person to feel their breath is being restricted. The forcible removal of all clothing from abused children by a big group of men is designed to retraumatise the victim, rendering them back to a state of flash backs of sexual abuse and violate any amount of human dignity they have. The extreme violence in grabbing the children, chemical sprays has no place any where near children. Let us not forget these children are overwhelmingly coming from extreme abuse and neglect. Many have development issues. It is like going into a home for disabled children and torturing them. It is has life long permanent ramifications. How in the hell would a child in this environment trust adults to life a good life. We are creating severely damaged individuals who will either self harm or inflict damage on others. There is no good from this. The way we treat the most vulnerable is a reflection on our own morals. I am sure these men who violated these children wouldn't agree to a group of men stripping them, forcing them against a wall. Children are not the punching bag for all of society's problems. NT fix your pathetic "child protection" system, roll out proper addiction rehab places, and build communities, not prisons.
I would suggest that unless we have worked with these types of juvenile offenders, we actually have zero idea of what it takes to control and take care of them. Particularly if they are intent on causing themselves or others harm. These 'children' are often as large and dangerous as a fully grown man.
A spit hood, from what I can tell, is designed to stop the inmate from spitting on people, and I think they are stripped to remove any item that they could use to harm themselves.
These are not little kids, these are hardened offenders intent on causing harm to themselves or others. How exactly would you suggest that they are dealt with under these circumstances? I would suggest that cuddles and gentle persuasion aren't going to cut it.
I agree - a lot of these offenders are already damaged people and the size of grown men, they have long criminal histories. BUT no one deserves to be treated like that - no running water in their cells, no fresh air or light, stinking and unwashed, being left for days on end, not understanding why they are there, not being told how long they are there for, being stripped naked by groups of grown men - this amounts to torture as bad as Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib. No bloody wonder the boy broke out of his cell and trashed the place - no one was listening to him, left him there in the sweltering dark with no answers, all alone for days. These boys were distressed and being denied basic human rights, laughed at and mocked when they were crying and begging for answers and soiling themselves after being gassed for up to 8 minutes. I'm sorry but WTF is that? It is unacceptable and abhorrent. The people involved should be absolutely ashamed of themselves and held accountable for their actions and also inaction. The Minister for Indigenous Affairs being told of this footage and choosing to go out to dinner instead of watching it? Disgusting. He should lose his portfolio. The NT Minister still retaining his position as Attorney-General - conflict of interest, should be fired. Is Four Corners running the country? The only ones calling the government out on their sh*tty behaviour? No matter what these boys did, their treatment was outrageous and the citizenry should not tolerate it. It makes us look as bad as Syria or Libya or all those other regimes we condemn. We can do better than this.
Well said! Agree with you 100% TwinMamaManly.